Locomotive stoker



p 1931- E. A. TURNER ET AL 1,825,137

LOCOMOTIV'E STQKER Filed July 18, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l R \N mm N ,3 mum 3 C 1 3 .3 a By Sept. 29, 1931. E. A. TURNER ET AL LOCOMOTIVE STOKERFiled July 18, 1927 a Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 29, 1931. E. A. TURNER ET AL1,825,137

LOCOMOTIVE ST OKER Filed July 18, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 [W4 Zia/mez- WWfwww' Patented Sept. 29, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT] OFFICE EDWINAR-CI-IER TURNER AND CHARLES J'. SURDY KOWSKI, OF PITTSBURGH, PENN-SYLVAN'IA, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE' ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE STANDARD STOKER' COMPANY IN (3., OF NEW YORK, N. YL, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE LOCOMOTIVESTOKER Application filed July 18, 1927. Serial No. 206,427.

This invention relates to locomotive stokcrs of the type whereinconveyors bring the coal from the tender to the locomotive and raise itto a suitable elevation for scattering over the grates, and has for itsprincipal objects to simplify the structure, to reduce the number ofparts, to reduce the distance the coal must be elevated and to provide asmall compact organization that can be readily applied to locomotives,both old and new,.with a minimum of obstruction in the cab and whichwill endure the rigors of service. 7

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription is read in connection with the accompanying drawingsillustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, and in whichFig. 1 is a vertical section through the stoker and portions of thetender and the locomotive taken on the broken line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of. the rear portion of the stoker and a sectionof the forward portion thereof and parts of the locomotive taken on theline 22 of Fig. 3; and

Fig, 3 is a rear elevation of the stoker and parts of the locomotive,the transfer conduit eing cut away on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

But this specific illustration and the cor respondingly specificdescription are used for the purpose of disclosure only and are notintended to support a narrow and limited construction of the claims.

Inits general organization the stoker includes a transfer conveyor, ortender unit generally indicated by A in Figs. 1 and 2, an elevating anddistributing mechanism or locomotive unit generally indicated by 13,

- and a driving, mechanism generally indicatedby C. i q

A portion of the locomotive tender is in? dicated at 10, including adeck 11 provided.

with a slot 12 through which the fuel descends to the transfer conveyorunder the control of a plurality of sliding plates 13 which may beshifted to make. the delivery from the tender at a point. suited to theconditions of the supply.

The rear end of the fire box of the locomotive is indicated at 14equipped with grates 15, extending forwardly from a back. head 16 whichhas afiring opening 17. Proecting rearwardly from the back head is acab'18 having a seat deck- 19. and a firing deck 20. y

The transfer conveyor or tender unit is composed of rear and forwardportions which, while separable, are in fact, one continuous transferconveyon.

The rear portion includes a trough 21: made fast beneath the deck on thetender in position to receive fuel throughthe slot 12:. andlyingsubstantially along the center. line of the tender. Mounted. withinthe trough, 1s a transfer. screw 22' extending lengthwise. and servingto move. the coal along the trough towards the locomotive andcooperating with acrusher bar. 23 toredi1ce large lumps to asizesuitable for firing;

At its rear end the screw 22 is provided with a socket 241, polygonal incross-section, which receives and cooperates with. a projection 25 ofsimilar cross section on a stub shaft 26 which projects through the rearend 27 of the trough into agear casing. 28 and is equipped withv a gear29 driven by a pinion 30 mounted in a lateral extension 31 l of the gearcasing 28.

At. its front end the trough is equipped with a hollow coupling element32, having a spherical portion 38, equipped with a flange 3e fixed to asimilar flanged ring 35 having a. spherical portion 36 receiving aspherical portion87 ona coupling element 38., whereby a universalconnection is. formed. q

The coupling element 38 forms a: part of the forward portion of thetransfer conduit, which includes .alsoatube 39 fixed to theelement 38 bybolts 40 and having. its forward end slidably received in a conduit.section .41, having aisphericalring 422 at its forward end received ina. socket of like shape formed by a flange 43 on the base of thelocomotive unit and a flanged ring 44. secured thereto, whereby .auniversal connection is effected betweenthe forward end of the transferconduit andithe locomotive unit.

The base of the locomotive unit is a substantially cylindrical castinghaving a bracket 46 on its forward side by which the base is made fastto the mud ring 47 of the back head 16. The flange d3 projectsrearwardly from the base casting 45 and provides communication with thetransfer conveyor, as just described.

. The upper portion of the base casting d5 terminates in a flangednipple 48 upon which is bolted or otherwise secured a substantiallycylindrical conduit 49, which extends along the back head substantiallyparallel to the upright center line of the locomotive. The cylindricalportion. of the base casting and the conduit 49 make up the elevatorcasing; and, in this instance where the back head is inclined forwardly,this casing is correspondingly inclined and extends along the back headat one side of the firing opening 17.

The fuel is raised in the elevator by an elevating screw 50 equipped atits lower end with a sealing ring or dust guard 51 and a stub shaft 52,which latter projects through the bot-tom 53 of the elevator casing intoa gear housing 54;, where it is equipped with a beveled gear by which itis driven.

The elevator may deliver the coal at any suitable height, either to thehand firing door 17, or any other opening that may be desired. In thispreferred embodiment the upper end of the conduit 49 is equipped with anelbow 56 which serves to turn the fuel laterally and downwardly into adelivery conduit 57 from which it drops on a ridge plate 58 and passesin more or separate streams to chutes 59 which direct it onto adistributor plate 60 from which it is scattered over the grates by jetsof steam issuing from the nozzle box 61 which is supplied by pipes 88(Fig. 2).

As shown, the upper end of the conduit 49 is equipped with a flange 62to which a similar flange 63 on the elbow 56 is bolted. The other end ofthe elbow has a flange 64L bolted to acorresponding flange 65 on thedelivery conduit 57. The lower end of the conduit 57 has a flange 66bolted to a box 67 which, in turn, is secured to the back head 16 bybolts 68 passing through the flange 69 (Fig. 1). The front side of thebox 67 is entirely open and the rear side is provided with an opening 70corresponding to the hand firing opening 17.

The construction of the chutes 59; their mounting in the bOX 67, andtheir operation may be substantially the same as disclosed in the HannaPatent No. 1,497,014 of June 10, 1914. In the interest of brevityparticular description is omitted.

Power to drive the stoker is generated by a motor 71 (Fig. 2),preferably including a plurality of cylinders 72 and a crank shaft ashaft 78 mounted in the gear casing 54;

and carrying a beveled gear 79, meshing with the gear The shaft 78 alsoprojects through the housing 54 and 1s equip- .ped with a crank 80 tofurnish power for driving the mechanism for swinging the chutes 59.

O peratioa The fireman, by shifting the plates 1 will provide an ooeningin the bottom of the tender at convenient point for the coal to descendby gravity into the trough 21. The screw 22 propels it along the trough,through the forward section of the conveyor 39, and delivers it directlyagainst the elevating screw 50 with sulhcient pressure to facilitate itselevation by that screw and overcon'ie the tendency of the coal torotate with the screw without rising.

The coal passes up the elevator into the elbow 56, turning laterally anddownwardly through the delivery conduit 57 onto the ridge plate 58,which divides it into two streams, each of which is received by thecorresponding chute 59 and passed onto the distributor plate (30. Thechutes may be moved back and forth from left to right in unison, orotherwise, in the well. known manner to play the streams of coal on the(littributor plate, from which the steam jets scatter it over the grate.

By making the elevator extend parallel to a substantially vertical planeat one side of the firing opening, the distance necessary to raise thecoal is reduced as compared w th an arrangement in which the elevator isinclined to a vertical plane.

It is also Within the contemplation of this invention that the coal maybe delivered through an opening other than the hand firing opening, anddistributed by any suitable means, such, for example, as the distributortube disclosed in the patent to Lower, No. 1,455,058.

The lateral inclination of the forward por tion of the transfer conveyorin 'reases slightly the distance the fuel must travel from the tender tothe elevator, but the re sistance is much less in a horizontal conveyorthan in an elevator. and this slight increase of distance makes anegligible dif ference in the operation.

By mounting the engine in the intermediate position and driving the twoconveyors by oppositely directed shafts connected to the combination ofa substantially upright single elevator arranged at one side of thecenter line of the locomotive, and delivering to the firing opening, atransfer conduit for bringing fuel from the tender to the locomotive andincluding a rear portion located substantially along the center line oftender and a forward portion lying at an angle to the rear portion andextending L in a direct line from the forward end of the rear portion tothe base of said elevator and delivering directly thereto, said forwardportion being disposed laterally from and at an acute angle with avertical plane through the center line of the tender, and means foradvancing fuel through the conduit.

2. In a stoker for use and in combination with a locomotive including abackhead having a firing opening leading into the firebox and a tenderbehind the locomotive, a single elevator rising from a point at one sideof the center line of the locomotive and extending along the backhead toa point adjacent to the firing opening and delivering thereto, and atransfer conveyor bringing fuel from the tender to the locomotive andincluding a roar section located substantially along the center line ofthe tender and a forward section for conveying fuel from the rearwardsection to the elevator and being universally jointed to each, and lyingat an angle to the center line of the locomotive, an elevating screw insaid elevator, an engine located alongside the transfer conveyor, adriving shaft operatively connected with the engine and operativelyconnected with the transfer conveyor at its rear end and a seconddriving shaft operatively connected with the engine, and gearingconnecting the second driving shaft with the elevator screw.

3. In a stoker for use and in combination with locomotives including aback head having a firing opening leading into the fire box and a tenderbehind the locomotive, a singleelevator rising from a point at one sideof the center line of the locomotive and extending along the back headsubstantially parallel to the vertical center line and delivering to thefiring opening, a transfer conveyor bringing fuel from the tender to thelocomotive and including a rear section located substantially along thecenter line of the tender and a forward section universally connectedwith the forward end of the rear section and the elevator and deliveringthereto and lying at an angle to the center line of the locomotive, anelevating screw in said elevator, an engine located in a horizontalposition alongside the transfer conveyor, a driving shaft extendingrearwardly from the engine and operatively connected with the engine andwith the transfer conveyor at its rear end and a'second driving shaftextending forward from the engine and operatively connecting the enginewith the elevator screw.

4. In a stoker for use and in combination with a locomotive including abackhead having a firing opening leading into the firebox and a tenderbehind the locomotive, a single elevator rising from a point at one sideof the center line of the locomotive and extending upright along thebackhead substantially parallel to the vertical center line and closelyadjacent to one side of the firing opening and at its upper portionopening inwardly at and delivering fuel to a side of the firing openingabove the lower marginal edge thereof, a transfer conveyor bringing fuelfrom the tender to the locomotive and including a rear section locatedsubstantially along the center line of the tender and a forward sectionflexibly connected with the forward end of the rear section and the baseof said elevator and delivering directly thereto, said forward sectionextending in a straight line from the forward end of the rear section tothe base of said elevator and being disposed laterally from and at anacute angle with a vertical plane through the center line of the tender.

In witness whereof we afiix our signatures.

E. ARCHER TURNER. CHARLES J. SURDYKOWSKI.

